ChiRex Inc. announced today the appointment of Bruce P. Shutts as vice President, development operations, effective July 5, 1999. Mr Shutts brings over 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical chemical process research and development and manufacturing to this newly-created position at ChiRex. He will be based at the Company's facility in Boston, Massachusetts.

Prior to joining ChiRex, Mr Shutts served most recently at Schering Plough Corporation in Union, New Jersey, as vice president of chemical development, where he directed the discovery, development and implementation of processes for the manufacture of all new chemical drug candidates. He also supervised the manufacture of drug compounds that supported all preclinical and clinical programs and managed the firm's laboratory and pilot plant operations.

"By hiring Bruce we have, in effect, hired one of our customers to deliver our development services to other customers," stated Michael A. Griffith, Chairman and CEO of ChiRex Inc, in a statement to the press. "Bruce will manage the worldwide pharmaceutical process development capabilities of ChiRex, which today employs 106 people with 62 chemists on the bench in three locations: Boston, Massachusetts; Malvern, Pennsylvania; and Dudley, England. Our development operations include two kilo labs (in Boston and Dudley), two pilot plants (in Malvern and Dudley) and a third pilot plant that is expected to come on line in Annan, Scotland during the first quarter of 2000. Bruce will lead all of our front-end operations in these facilities, which include discovery support, compound design, synthesis route demonstration, compound development, analytical methods development, clinical trial production, hazard evaluation, and regulatory support."

Mr. Shutts added, "ChiRex has demonstrated process research and development capabilities equivalent to those of its pharmaceutical customers. It also has the unique ability to scale-up and manufacture launch and mature market quantities of active ingredients. The Company links these capabilities with an integrated in-house validated technology transfer system that gives ChiRex a powerful competitive advantage over both its process development and contract manufacturing competitors. Our objective is to make ChiRex our customers' 'first call' for important and high-probability new drug compounds. In the race to market, ChiRex can get its customers to market faster and with less risk. I will serve as an advocate to ensure that ChiRex meets all of its commitments to customers while bringing their perspective to the issues and challenges of drug development."

Prior to his tenure with Schering Plough Corporation, Mr. Shutts served as the Department Head of Chemical Intermediates Production for Bristol Myers Squibb, where he managed the operations of a fully automated manufacturing facility that produced in excess of 100 tons per year of product. Mr. Shutts earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University in 1975 and his M.B.A. in Finance from Syracuse University in 1981.